Probably the last thing Hershey needs is another Italian restaurant. Yet, Bella Italia, which opened this summer, is host to continuous streams of customers.

Set back from Fishburn Road, the discreet restaurant flags diners with a new sign by the road and a classic Italian menu amped up with hot and cold subs, appetizers, wings, numerous salads and wraps. The roadside location has been a revolving business site, and perhaps this new eatery has enough demand to stay put at least for now.

The boxy building has a fresh stone facade and streamlined bistro-pizzeria interior. “It took three months to fix up and clean out,” says owner Pietro “Peter” Amato.

Mustard-colored walls and striped tablecloths warm the small, square dining space. Decorative wrought iron fencing separates the kitchen workspace from the dining area, but you can still watch as pizzas go in and out of the large brick oven. Across the side wall is a colorful scene of Sicily (close to Amato’s home). The noise level is conducive to conversations, and our server materialized at all the right moments.

The kitchen runs smoothly, and there was not an annoying wait between courses, even with multiple tables occupied.

One reason to stop in and give this place a try is the bread. Homemade, tight-crumbed but squishy Italian bread slices are hard to resist, especially at hand’s length away from dinner plates. These same loaves can be made into 3-foot party subs loaded with deli meats and cheeses. The cost for the 3-foot subs ranges from $32 to $34, depending on the content.

Continuing with the bread theme, “light” pizza dough, as it’s described on the menu, is the dough used for strombolis. We tried the special deluxe, medium, $13, which was still quite large. The filling consists of ham, sausage, salami, onion, black olives, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and a skimpy little blanket of mozzarella cheese that just barely oozes from a freshly cut slice. The filling needed more seasonings. Red sauce, without a lot of seasoning, comes on the side for dunking. This particular stromboli was not high on my list of go-to choices.

Again focusing on the bread, Chicken Texas sub ($6.75) is made on a soft, thin-crust homemade roll. Tangy with a vinegar bite, the barbecue sauce leaves its mark on chunks of chicken and bacon tangled in its sticky web. Melted American cheese calms the piquant aftertaste of the sauce. I’d order this sub again.

Although I loved the flavor of the Chicken Marsala sauce ($14.95), I found that both the chicken pieces in this dish and the eggplant in the eggplant Parmesan ($9.95) could have been pounded thinner. Instead, the chicken and eggplant slices were not as tender or as juicy as they could be in these dishes. Incidentally, the house side salads that come with the meals are noteworthy. They are made with strips of roasted peppers, crisp cucumber slices, tomatoes, and topped with homemade dressing.

Big hand-cut squares of lasagna ($9.50) are reasonably priced and mouthwatering. Pasta layered with a ricotta cheese mixture and ground beef sits in a pool of just enough sauce. The lasagna is delicately rich without being bogged down by too much filling per layer. I paired this pasta with a ingredient-studded Greek salad, small $6 or large, $7.50. Green pepper slices, kalamata olives, purple onion, tomatoes and big chunks of fresh feta cheese enhanced the greens. Homemade dressing with lots of oregano augmented the flavor of the salad too.

Overall, I can see how this newcomer has taken a bite out of the Italian restaurant pie in Hershey. Some of the recipes are just mediocre. They could be tweaked by more seasonings and by more attention to texture. The service is dependable, and the surroundings uncomplicated, clean and pleasant.

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